Just the random thoughts and reviews from an interesting mind.

Category Archives: Movie Review

I have really sat and thought about how I am going to go about talking about this one. The movie review of Stephen Kings IT, which is the remake of the made for TV movie. I hope that you enjoy my take on it. I will explain the movie a bit, talk a bit about the differences between the original movie and the book and then give my insight on it. In other words:

SPOILERS!

It is 1988 in Derry, Maine. The movie starts by introducing Bill (Jaeden Lieberher) and his little brother Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott). Bill is sick but has made a paper boat for Georgie to sail in the rain. As Georgie is sailing his boat, it dives into the storm drain on the side of the road. There we get our first glance of Pennywise (played by Bill Skarsgård.) He talks to Georgie, introduces himself and then proceeds to kill him.

It moves on to show Bill coming out of the last day of school with his friends, the loud mouth Ritchie Tozer (Finn Wolfhard) and Eddie Kaspbrak (Jack Dylan Grazer.) Bill is intent on finding his brother and has decided that the barrens are the best place to look. They meet Ben Hanscome (Jeremy Ray Taylor,) Beverly Marsh (Sophia Lillis) and Mike Hanlon (Chosen Jacobs) and Stanley Uris (Wyatt Oleff) and are attacked by bullies Henry Bowers, Belch, Patrick and Victor Criss. Patrick is then taken by Pennywise.

They begin experiencing horrifying things caused by Pennywise. They find that being together, Pennywise is unable to take them, so he works to break them apart. A fight between the crew ends in them splitting ways and Beverly is attacked by her father (who was thinking that she was sleeping with the boys) and she fights back by smashing her fathers head in with what appears to be the top of the toilet tank. She is then taken by Pennywise.

Bill visits her house to find her father on the floor and the words “YOU DIE IF YOU TRY” written in blood and her father dead in the bathroom. He goes and finds Ritchie and tells him that Beverly has been taken. They gather the rest of the guys together and set out to go into the sewer where they are sure Pennywise lives.

It moves to show Beverly laying on the floor of some concrete room that is filled with old childrens toys that is formed into a huge mound. and circus music is playing. Beverly looks up to see children floating up in the air around the mound. A voice comes over the music introducing “Pennywise the Dancing Clown” and as she looks over, Pennywise is standing in what looks like a mock circus tent. He begins to dance (I have to say this: It was quite hilarious) and then attacks Beverly. She says that she isn’t afraid so he introduces her to the Dead Lights. Her eyes turn white and she floats upwards.

Bill and the guys find the concrete room and see Beverly and try to get her down. They try to call to her, but nothing pulls her from the Dead Lights until Ben shakes her and kisses her. Slowly she comes back.

Bill hears a sound and moves around the toy mound to find his brother standing there. Georgie is telling Bill that he wants to go home. Bill is devastated, and says that he wants him to come home too, that he loves him but he knows that he isn’t Georgie. So he takes this gun thing (it is used to humanely kill what looks like Sheep) and shoots Georgie in the head.

He falls flat and as everyone gasps in horror at what he did, Georgies body begins to twitch and turns into Pennywise. Bill tries to shoot Pennywise again, but doesn’t realize the gun is not loaded. But his belief that it was causes Pennywise to fall back, a gunshot having smashed the side of his head. He falls back towards what looks like an old well and his head tears apart and he falls as they watch.

They all know that Pennywise is not dead, so they make a blood oath to come back if it starts again.

Henry takes the blame for all of the murders.

Now for the differences.

The made for TV movie will always be a classic, but it doesn’t go into the depth that this one takes. It is more subtle and tame. It never shows how the kids die, never really shows the depth of Pennywise and this movie does. The effects of Pennywises feeding is perfectly done. It shows how his mouth works which is a major plus. While I love the old movie (TIM CURRY IS THE BEST!) it wasn’t as detailed. You are able to see him biting into Georgie, and dragging him back into the sewer.

The movie also shows (subtle as it is) the truth behind the abuse of Beverly. The MFTV (made for TV) movies shows that she is abused yes, BUT you can really tell in this movie what that entails. And that goes for the book too.

It also gives an insight on how Pennywise works; goes more in depth about his actions. Let me explain. It shows the steps he takes to get the FEAR that he needs to survive. In the book, it gives the explanation in a candid and clear way, and the movie was trying to accomplish that while taking a few liberties.

Also, the kids are potty mouthed like crazy. In the original, there was only a slight show of that, this movie gives us more of it and the book. The “F” word was used more than 200 times in the book, the “C” word was said around 10 times along with other things.

Now, as for the book, it is more graphic, more disturbing. There is horrid violence, sexual violence, an orgy. What else can I say?

There is a lot of difference between the old MFTV movie, the 2017 movie and the book. I won’t go into detail about all of it but if you have read anything by Stephen King, watched any of the movies, you will understand.

As for my thoughts on it:

I think the movie is fantastic. I really do. Bill Skarsgård done a fantastic job of showing us the true side of Pennywise that wasn’t able to be shown on the MFTV movie. But Tim Curry will always be the top clown.

The kid actors were absolutely wonderful in their delivery. They made you sink into the scenes with them, made you feel the raw emotion that they did and that in itself is amazing. You do not expect that people so young could draw you in like that, but they definitely have the ability.

The effects were superbly done and flawless in their use. Pennywises mouth was something I was glad was elaborated on. While Tim Curry’s teeth were great, I always felt that using the teeth they did detracted from how terrifying Pennywise actually is. By doing it the way they have in the 2017 movie, showing the depth behind the teeth made it better.

I would also like to add a little about the “dancing” part. I have never seen anyone dance maniacally before. Well now I have. It was funny but scary all at once. Bill Skarsgård really nailed it. Bill, wow. Well done on that.

Do I think this is a movie for the younger folk? No… OH HELL NO. I mean, maybe over the age of 13 but no younger. It was vulgar, crude and that is something I do not feel is good for the young ones.

Now, for my end thoughts.

I think they done a great job. The movie is amazing and very well done. I was angry at first that they would take the old classic and refurbish it, but in the end, I am glad they did. I liked the changes that were made, the actions that were taken and feel that it could have even when farther in depth.

Hello my friends! Today I have a movie review for you of something that I am not outraged over. *shocker!* It is the movie The BFG. Oh and:

SPOILERS!

The movie starts out showing an orphanage and a little girl named Sophie who is wandering around in a blanket late in the evening. Everyone else is asleep, except the head mistress who moves around occasionally through the house. She locks the doors, and sorts the mail while everyone is asleep around her.

She makes her way up stairs and into the room where the children sleep, so she can sit on her bed and read; while she is covered in her blanket. She hears a noise outside the balcony and sees a trash pale overturned in the street, and a big hand moving to set it right.

She runs back into the room and hides under her blanket, only to be taken by the creature with a big hand. Who she later learns is a giant. Throughout the first stages of the story, we learn that the giant is a nice fellow, and he explains that since she saw him, he had to take her to Giant Country which is located in a hidden area of England.

He, the BFG (Big Friendly Giant), is the keeper of dreams who then distributes them across the human world (at least this is how it seemed. More about this later.) You are then introduced to the meaner side of the Giant Country. The other giants are a lot bigger than the BFG and treat him like a loser and a failure to Giant Kind.

The BFG then takes Sophie with him to where he gathers his dreams. It is a huge tree that is swarming with different color lights. Sophie begins chasing them and catches a golden one that the BFG explains is a very special one, one that he rarely sees and he explains that it is her dream. She then catches a red one, that turns out to be a bad dream shaded with red. He takes it and locks it away before explaining that it is a nightmare.

Then the BFG and Sophie go back into London and give a child a dream before they hear the sounds of the other bad giants. Sophie sets up a plan that brings the Queen of England into the picture. They give the Queen a nightmare that shows what is happening to the children in London that have been disappearing and that Sophie will be sitting on her window sill to introduce her to the BFG. The Queen wakes up to tell her dream to who I assume is her helper or something. The helper is shocked because the paper that the Queen hasn’t read shows the disappearances and as the Queen is telling the names of the giants, she forgets one and a small voice from the window says the name. That is when they find Sophie.

She explains that it is all true, and then introduces them all to the BFG. They then come up with a plan to keep the bad giants out of their land. The BFG and Sophie give the giants nightmares that causes them to feel guilt and remorse, only the worst giant woke up too soon. Bloodblotter (the big meanie one) goes on a rampage only to be caught by the Royal Airforce who the BFG had brought into Giant Country. All of the bad giants were then taken to a very remote island surrounded by water (which they hated) that was completely isolated and left with only the seeds of a nasty cucumber type vegetable.

Sophie was then adopted by the Queens helper, and every morning and night she would say out her window “hello” to the BFG who heard her, even so far away.

Now that I have gotten the story out, I will give my input and some factoids about the whos and whatsits.

The movie was based off the book “The BFG” written by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake in 1982. The story was a huge success with more than 40 million copies sold world wide. It was dedicated to Dahls daughter, Olivia, who had lost her life in 1962 at the age of 7 by contracting the disease Measles Encephalitus. Through his heartbreak, this story was born.

It was later brought to the screen as a TV adaptation in 1989 with David Jason as the voice of BFG and Amanda Root as Sophie. There has also been theater performance. But it wasn’t until 2016 when it landed in the hands of Steven Spielberg that I learned about this story. The screenplay was written by Melissa Mathison and stars quite a few good actors. I shall list them below that way they do not take up all the space here.

Now for my thoughts.

This story was beautiful and I can honestly say that I am glad that I took the time to watch it. It flowed perfectly, the acting was flawless and the CG was on point. While yes, there are some spots that made me go “Eh,” those were definitely overshadowed by the wonderful feelings that the story evoked. I truly felt myself drawn in, attached to the characters and the outcomes. I was overwhelmed by the beautiful colors, but also the way it was all laid out. There was not a moment that I wasn’t smiling, or laughing or even tearing up. I also want to say that there is one point that I didn’t make in the run down above. I left it out on purpose because I want you to feel how I felt when it came to light in the story. It broke my heart and made me feel such empathy towards BFG at that moment.

Do I suggest this story? Yes. I would suggest it to anyone. I feel that sharing this movie with everyone, children included shows what it is like to not only be bullied, but doing what is right. It is facing your fears and being good in the face of adversity. While some might not see it that way, it is what I get out of it and well, not to be rude, it is my review. 😛 *laughs*

So yes, I loved this movie and will watch it again. And I suggest you do the same.

Hello friends! Hope your day is going well. With all the hoololly that is going on about the new Hellraiser film coming out (if it hasn’t already!) I thought I would go through and watch a few of the films as a bit of an homage to the series. I personally love the Hellraiser movies, and enjoy the imaginative way they have brought the story to life. BUT, and this is a big but, there are a few that I haven’t watched and Revolution is one of them. Oh and btw,

SPOILERS!

The story starts out in a sort of home video way. 2 guys are on a roadtrip and one is filming. The one driving is telling the other that no, they aren’t going to where he said they were, that they were going to Mexico. Tijuana, Mexico to be exact. They are talking nasty stuff and that is when you get to really know the guys involved.

The passenger/camera guy is Steven. The driver is Nico who is dating Stevens sister Emma. They proceed to talk about getting hookers in Tijuana and having an all around great time. Then it moves to later in the time and Steven and Nico are getting sh*t-faced drunk and see a woman that Steven is just wowed by. They go up and talk to her.

It then switches to showing an older woman watching the boys on a video camera. Apparently, Steven and Nico end up missing. This younger woman comes in, ugh, I’m going to skip through most of this. Apparently, the woman is Stevens mom, the young girl is Emma, Stevens sister and the family is having dinner with the parents of Nico. Emma is mad because the parents don’t want to talk about the boys and she ends up going into Stevens room where she finds the bag that was found at the scene.

And she ends up watching part of the video where Nico ended up screwing the woman that they had met in a bathroom stall and Steven had caught them. She gets mad and then finds the PUZZLE BOX…. oooooooooh.

All this crap happens, she plays with the puzzle box and Steven comes home and all this weird sh*t happens, blah blah blah. Then Emma and Steven end up making out, with his hands in her shirt, and she sees him ripping of her boob. This is where I just couldn’t even watch. INCEST people. Think about that.

Well, skip skip skip, blah blah blah, and then we see the shot that I waited for. PINHEAD… but.. wait… what is wrong with Pinhead? He… doesn’t look righ… OMFG really? really? That isn’t Doug Bradley. That is some impostor! Who the HELL (get it?) is that guy? And… who the hell is that other guy? THIS ISN’T MAKING ANY SENSE!!!

People, Doug Bradley. Doug Bradley is PINHEAD. How dare they not have Doug Freakin’ Bradley as Pinhead and put in this ugly and NON-acting fool in his place! It was at that moment that I proceeded to lose faith in Humanity, in the horror community as a whole. I felt the need to watch the Notebook or some other romantic tripe that I hate.

The story ends up dumber and dumber as time goes on. Nico ends up killing the hooker, then getting given the puzzle box, then Steven ends up with a hooker and kills her, which in turn brings back Nico, then Steven kills more hookers so Nico can get his body back, and when Steven wouldn’t do it anymore, Nico ends up taking Stevens skin, Steven ends up using the puzzle box to “save himself” and becomes the second Pinhead, and ugh. It just ends up being this jumble of stupidity.

I am horrified that they would even DARE to consider this piece of garbage as Hellraiser. I know that Clive Barker, the amazing man behind the creation of the book that the Hellraiser franchises inspiration, has to be having some type of fit over this.

Mr. Barker,

I am truly sorry for what they have made Hellraiser into. I am devastated by the lengths that they have went just to keep it going, and how wrong they have been in the way they have done it. I know you must be ashamed of them.

And to you pukes that have destroyed the story,

HOW DARE YOU! Mr. Barker had such sights to show us. He created this amazing (yet terrifying) world and you have made it into this mess. This disgusting and trivial mess that I can’t even believe you have put onto film. This movie was horrid, stupid and had no flow. The plot itself (or should I say the IDEA of the plot) was a good one, I give you that, but your follow through was bullsh*t. The actors were horrible, the scenes made no sense and Pinhead… OMG what have you done!? You know what… I want those 2 hours of my life back.

*sits in the corner, her legs up to her chest with her arms around them, rocking back and forth while she cries*

Okay, I know I am a little late for this but I am doing a review on a movie that I have been dying to watch. Krampus. Yes, I know that a lot of you have already watched this movie, but with times being what they are, and the moolah being tight around here, I was not able to see this doozy on the big screen. Honestly, I haven’t seen a movie in the theater since Big Hero 6, but I digress.

The movie focuses around a family of Scrooges having their normal reunion for the Christmas season. A little boy sees it as a means of just having family together. His grandmother, a woman that seems to only speak german I am guessing, too is only wanting happiness for the family. But no one is happy, it is all for show.

Teasing happens between the boy and what I am guessing are his cousins and he ends up tearing up his letter to Santa and tossing it out the window where it flies up into the air and into what seems to be oblivion.

But someone got the letter. Krampus, the opposite of Santa comes into the picture and all kinds of mean shenanigans goes on. I am not going to give any more away since some of you might not have watched it, so I am just going to give my opinion here.

I had worked this movie up so much in my mind. The very air was electric when I held the DVD in my hand. Oh how my very heart sang as I put it into the player. And then….. disappointment. I was seriously let down. Honestly, I cannot truly pinpoint what let me down so much. It was little things that just… rubbed me the wrong way.

The plot was there, I could see it, but it played out in a bad way. It left me feeling like something was missing. It jumped from bit to bit without thoroughly explaining WHY. Yes, some of you might argue that I missed something and I might have. But I feel that the plotline, while it was there, it wasn’t explored in a way that could give a person closure.

The acting was good, but in the end, it felt like they were short on some of the ways that they delivered. Their lines, while done well, just didn’t give the feeling of being truly in the moment. It was like some of them were forced and not thought through. I know it seems like a bad way of putting this, but it truly felt more like a “scary” remake of National Lampoons Christmas Vacation mixed with The Ref. I do feel that the only one that truly made a fabulous character was the Grandmother. But in the end, her delivery was confusing and weird. Why was she only speaking german when she clearly spoke english as well? Especially since many of the other family members didn’t understand.

The “creatures” were well done, and certainly held that bit of fear drawing that many “monster” movies do which was a bonus. They were well made, and I could see that someone put a lot of heart into it, but…. Krampus himself seemed like another thing that was rushed. The makeup, while certainly freaky, just didn’t give the oomph that I feel it should have. He seemed meek compared to lets say… the clown monster.

Now, I am going to touch something else about the characters here. The human ones. It never explained why they were acting the way they were. Why was the family so broken? Why was it so destructive? What caused the family to be the way they were? I know it seems like I am just picking at hairs here, but I want to know the history of WHY.

These aren’t the only things that I have a problem with, but I am going to leave it at this. So would I suggest this movie to the peeps? Yes. Yes I would. Not because of the movie itself, BUT of the POINT of the movie. The thought of a Christmas Krampus coming and punish people that don’t have the spirit of Christmas, I feel is something deeper. Having the love of a family, sharing times together in joy is what this movie is about. It doesn’t have to be about Christmas, but about anything in your life. Being with the ones you love, the ones that love you back is something that I think all of us can learn from. We all need to open our eyes to what family truly means. It is about LOVE. While this movie doesn’t necessarily delve into that, it can be seen.

I do hope that all of you hold your family close. Even those that you have chosen. Cherish one another.

L.

(PS. I do not own any rights to the movie, I am just stating my opinion. The featured image is also not owned by me in any shape or form. I would like to thank Legendary Pictures and Universal Pictures for the Poster that you see.)